Category Archives: Fundraising Tips

Freedom Fundraising is fortunate to have very successful repeat customers. We talked to some of our most outstanding money makers, and they gave us their guidelines to help people just starting out with fundraising.

Derek C. from Friendship, Wisconsin has successful fundraisers every year. Here are some of his best words of advice:

1. Students will sell a lot of candy if they call gas stations, local grocery stores, and COLLEGES. You would be surprised at how many college students buy candy from kids!

2. Allow students to check out 1 box of candy and 2 if they have a note from a parent.

3. Set your fundraiser for 2 weeks only. This is the right amount of time for a student fundraiser. The kids are focused in this amount of time and will not grow tired of the fundraiser.

4. Have an early turn-in date where kids need to turn in leftover candy. This way leftovers can be redistributed to other kids and there will not be wasted pieces.

5. Kids like sour stuff. Adults like chocolate. You can combine both for best results in a Create Your Own Variety from Freedom Fundraising.

7. Remind and encourage parents to pre-pay for boxes, so they are able to take more and sell.

8. Submit a picture to the newspaper of your top sellers. It is a great PR plug. Parents also love to see their kids in the paper.

9. Send out thank you notes to the parents after the fundraiser is done and let them know that their support has been appreciated! Thank you notes are simple to do, and they go a long way in encouraging people to support you again.

10. Give out cash prizes to the top 10 sellers. This is a huge incentive for kids! Cash talks!

Fundraising is for everyone, younger kids, young adults, teens, or adults. With younger kids, usually adults or parents play a valuable role in the fundraising process. Especially with younger children, the parents are called on more simply, because the kids need help to have success. Fundraising can seem lengthy or sometimes be a stressful process for those new to the situation. With that in mind, we’ve come up with some tips and tricks for fundraisers that heavily rely on parental interaction, in the hopes to make fundraising with kids easier and more fun for the adults.

- The best fundraisers are the kind with little to no hassle, especially when parents are going to be doing some or most of the work for their child. It is also an excellent idea to choose a fundraiser that has a substantial profit so that you can make more money while doing less work. Some great choices would be our $2 fundraisers, which come in handy carrying cases or our brochure fundraiser Celestial Candles which has a 50% profit rate!

- It’s important to keep parents informed during the entire fundraising process. Some great ways to keep parents informed is through meetings, emails or letters, and updates. This way everyone is on the same page and will be aware of start/end dates, product distribution, meetings, etc.

- It’s important to make sure your parental helpers do not feel overwhelmed with the process. Often, keeping sale duration shorter can make it less stressful. It promotes faster sales, keeps the momentum up, and in turn often makes the sales better in the long run. Sometimes when the sales linger, the stress can linger as well.

- Be sure to provide several suggestions on how parents can not only help their children sell but alternative sales methods as well. Having them take fundraisers to work to try and get sales from co-workers is a quick and accessible way to make sales. They could place the order taking brochure in a common area or lunch room where others can quickly write down their orders or have a case stationed at their desk for those who pass by. Depending upon their work environment, they may even be able to set up a case in a common area with a sign and money collection jar. Taking fundraisers to other social events such as church gatherings, family/friend outings can also be beneficial to sales and profit.

- Emphasize the importance of the end goal and cause to parents who will be helping sell. It can help motivate them to work towards their child’s group goal and keep everyone less stressed.

- It’s important to stay organized throughout the duration of the fundraiser for many reasons. Keeping organized means that you are better prepared to deal with any pop-up situations or questions. Sometimes one seller won’t make as much, have product left over, can’t make a meeting, etc. When you’re organized you can think clearer when situations arise and, in turn, make better decisions about what to do. During your fundraiser if you have a question about a process or need some help, give our fundraising experts a call at 800-500-2500 or live chat with us on our website. We’re happy to assist you from the start to finish of your fundraiser.

- Set an example. When working with young kids, a fundraiser can be one of their first introductions to individual goal achieving and teamwork. By putting your best foot forward you’re not only providing an easy way for the parents to help fundraise, but you’re providing an example of how to work together in a calm and organized manner. Your kids will watch that and mimic that action as they try to sell currently and during future fundraisers down the road. Make it a fun and educational experience they remember in a positive light.

Even after the sale ends, you will need to organize money, handle the items after they ship if you decide to do a brochure fundraiser, and finish out the remainder of the process. Although it can seem like an enormous task to help out so much with a fundraiser, it is an important job and is very beneficial for the kids you are helping. Often, young kids fundraising have no way of raising money successfully by themselves. So having parental support is a huge leg up for them!

The season of giving is upon us. With all the good feelings of the holidays, it’s a perfect time to spread cheer while still making a profit with your fundraising before the New Year.

Make your products festive and create a better sales opportunity with our free printable holiday wraps! We’ve created three new designs for you to download and use on your winter items that are sure to boost sales. Each design includes a $1 chocolate bar design, $2 chocolate bar design, and a tag design that can be tied onto any item with just a little ribbon or even some tape. Get creative and use the tags for more than just lollipops, some examples would be using yarn or ribbon to tie the tags to crackers, pretzel rods, or even jerky.

To attach the holiday wrap to a candy bar, wrap the printout around the bar, centering it. Apply a piece of double-stick tape to the underside of that flap that has the “to and from” on it, and press to adhere to the top of the other side of the wrap. You can put the wraps out with the candy bars on your fundraising table, along with some double-sided tape, for customers to select their design. Or you can decide to pre-wrap the bars yourself or as a group project. If you have multiple chocolate varieties, you may want to separate each kind with a different design, to avoid confusion for customers as well as yourself.

To attach the tags: punch a hole in the center top, and center bottom and slide the lollipop stick through the punched holes, so the stick is behind the tag design. Or punch a single hole in the center top or one of the top corners of the tag. Thread ribbon through and tie onto the lollipop or item. If using curling ribbon, curl the ends using scissors to dress it up.

The holidays are a perfect time to be selling candy and other small items for gifting and stocking stuffers. Increase sales and products by advertising spirited ways to use them. Use the decorated candy to sell for holiday candy grams for schools or sports teams, decorate candy to sell for stocking stuffers, or even just a personalized small gift to show someone you are thinking about them this cheerful holiday season.

Get creative and come up with lots of ways to show appreciation this time of year!

If you're looking for a fast, and festive profit maker this season, call 1-800-500-2500 to speak to one of our helpful fundraising experts. They will gladly assist you in choosing a perfect profit maker this chilly winter season!